life 2.0

so i'm just chillin in my kitchen, listening to shane and shane [so good ... i can literally listen to them for hours. probably has something to do with the fact that upwards of 85% of their lyrics are quotes straight from the mouth of God, aka, the Bible.] elmar brought me this awesome tea from africa, because i was telling him about this ethiopian tea we used to get in milwaukee at lulu's cafe. best tea on the face of the earth. hands down ... if i could drink nothing else for the rest of my life, i would be more than satisfied with that tea. this stuff that elmar brought isn't quite the same, but i'll take it :D it's actually really good.

tomorrow i get to spend some quality time with the ever-lovely emily o, and i don't think i could be more happy about that :) i do love her, i haven't seen enough of her lately.

monday i start training as a barista at starbucks!!! i can hardly wait ... i love coffee. and starbucks. and the doors the Lord opened in His clearly omnipotent way, before i could even realize how providencial it was for me to work there.

today i had to come to terms [yet again] with my kitchen oddities. there are a few areas and situations that the nature of Christ is not as formed in me as He is in other areas and situations. two of these are [1] driving and [2] the kitchen. it probably sounds funny ... but it's really not when i sit back and examine myself, my heart, my motives, my grudges and complaints. like james says ... it's our selfish desires, our self-idolatry that causes division and strife. and paul says it too, that enmity and strife and dissention are all fruits of the carnal flesh.

well, like i said, i'm chronically human. especially when i'm driving. and espeically in my kitchen.

on september 11 in my utmost for His highest, i had to laugh out loud when i read,

"ministering in every day opportunities that surround us does not mean that we select our own surroundings--it means being God's very special choice to be available for use in any of the seemingly random surroundings which He has engineered for us. the very character we exhibit in our present surroundings is an indication of what we will be like in other surroundings. the things Jesus did were the most menial of everyday tasks, and this is an indication that it takes all of God's power in me to accomplish even the most common tasks His way. can i use a towel as He did? towles, dishes, sandals, and all the other ordinary things in our lives reveal what we are made of more quickly than anything else. it takes God Almighty Incarnate in us to do the most menial duty as it ought to be done."

dang.


that is what this season of my life has been about, more than anything else i think; the Lord is really teaching me how to live. not how to live out a specific calling or in a specific place or with a specific ministry or job or anything else .... but just how to live Christ. how to be Jesus with skin on, here, now, wherever He has placed me, with whomever He has put me. it's been hard for me, because [i'm not gonna lie] i'm a big-vision kinda girl. i like the huge plans and the special callings and the drastic life changes that come with following the Lord's lead. so right now, as He's leading me to where i've been for a while now, i'm a little bit like a pouty toddler.

but at the same time ...

it has been so sweet to trust Jesus with the dishes. just like i trusted Him with my major. or my summer jobs. or sharing the gospel for the first time with my dearest friend. or my post-grad plans. or the overhauls that happend in some of my relationships.

yesterday it was life plans. today it's the dishes. tomorrow ... it doesn't matter what or how big or small it will be. because either way i know i trust Him. and trusting Him is no small thing.


and that is nothing short of glorious.




thank You, Jesus.